Washington @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 3, 2018 ) Dallas 4, Washington 3

Dallas Stars president Jim Lites' biting comments about the play of Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn apparently hit home. The duo hopes to be able to continue its offensive surge since the remarks were made when the Stars conclude their four-game homestand Friday against the Washington Capitals.

Dallas has gone 2-0-1 during its stretch at American Airlines Center, which began a day after Lites spoke harshly about Seguin and Benn - who have combined for four goals and two assists over the three games. However, Benn suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday's 5-4 triumph over New Jersey and is considered day-to-day. Captain Alex Ovechkin ended his six-game goal-scoring drought on Thursday, but it wasn't enough to keep Washington from having its five-game road winning streak snapped as it began a three-game trek with a 5-2 setback at St. Louis. The 33-year-old Russian's tally was his league-leading 30th, making him the second player in league history (Mike Gartner) to begin his career with 14 straight 30-goal seasons.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington Plus, FS Southwest Plus (Dallas)

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (24-12-3): Defenseman Matt Niskanen recorded two penalty minutes and a minus-2 rating in 21 minutes, 23 seconds of ice time on Thursday after missing two games with an upper-body injury. Ovechkin joined Gartner (15 seasons from 1979-94) and Jaromir Jagr (15 from 1991-2007) as the only NHL players to record at least 30 goals in 14 or more consecutive campaigns. Blue-liner Michal Kempny notched a pair of assists against the Blues, matching his total from the previous 13 games.

ABOUT THE STARS (21-16-4): Rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen celebrated being selected to play in the All-Star Game by recording his second career two-goal performance on Wednesday. The 19-year-old Finn, who also tallied twice on Nov. 23 against Ottawa, is tied with forwards Devin Shore and Alexander Radulov for the team lead with three game-winning goals. Seguin, who registered his third two-goal performance of the season in the win over the Devils, is one assist shy of 300 for his career.

OVERTIME

1. Stars D Julius Honka, who exited Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury, practiced the next day and is expected to be in the lineup against the Capitals.

2. Washington RW T.J. Oshie has gone three games without a goal, keeping him two shy of 200 for his career.

3. Dallas recalled Erik Condra from Texas and assigned fellow RW Denis Gurianov to the American Hockey League club.

PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Stars 2